Mechanism for coupling the motor armature to the shear plate of a clipper



Nov. 15, 1960 M. ANDIS MECHANISM FOR COUPLING THE MOTOR ARMATURE TO THE SHEAR PLATE OF A CLIPPER Filed Jan. 30, 1957 INVENTOR.

NHT'HEW imp 9 United States Patent MECHANISM FOR COUPLING THE MOTOR AR- MATURE TO THE SHEAR PLATE OF A CLIPPER Mathew Andis, Racine, Wis., assignor to Andis Clipper Co., Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Jan. 30, 1957, Ser. No. 637,217

4 Claims. (Cl. 30-208) This invention relates to improvements in hair clippers.

The device of the present invention is provided with improved mechanism for coupling the motor armature to the shear blade of the clipper. The coupling between these parts is frictional and hence readily releasable whenever it is desired to disassemble the clipper. Notwithstanding the ease in disassembling the parts, however, the shear blade is held firmly to the motor armature to partake of is motion and the parts are free for limited yielding movement to accommodate for the change in relative position of the armature with respect to the shear blade due to specific differences in their respective motions.

The armature will oscillate about a fixed pivot in a plane which is at an angle to the plane in which the shear blade reciprocates. Accordingly, the free end of the armature will swing through a small arc while the reciprw cation of the shear blade is rectilinear. To accommodate for this difference in motion of the two interconnected parts, the coupling therebetween is resilient and yieldable as will hereinafter appear.

The device of the present invention is further provided with improved mechanism for releasably attaching interchangeable comb plates to the clipper case. In the device of the present invention the several comb plates are provided with sockets into which the detent head of a locking slide on the bed portion of the clipper case will interengage. The interengaged detent parts are desirably wedge shaped for progressive application of locking pressure therebetween and the locking slide is biased by a spring toward its engaged position. The spring is disposed in a spring recess seat which is laterally offset from the path of movement of the locking slide.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent upon an examination of the following disclosure in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary cross section taken through the head of a clipper embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of the clipper head with the interchangeable comb plate and its associated interlocking parts removed. This view is taken generally along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of the head of the clipper with the interchangeable comb plate removed, but showing the interlocking detent portions fastened to the clipper case in place.

Fig. 4 is a bottom view of an interchangeable comb plate.

Figs. 5 and 9 are perspective views respectively of interengageable parts of the comb plate interlocking mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a perspectiveview in spaced apart relation of the parts for coupling the motor armature driving arm to the shear blade.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevation of the'interconnected coupling parts, as these parts would appear if viewed along the line 7-7 of Fig. 1 with the clipper case removed.

Fig. 8 is a cross section taken along the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

A 2,959,855 Patented, Nov. 15, 1960 arm 12 for the shear blade 13 is connected. As best shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, the driving arm 12 has a medial dividing slot 16 which divides the arm into laterally spaced arm portions 14.

The free ends of the arm portions 14 are provided with coupling parts including outwardly facing marginal notches 15. The arm material in which the notch is formed is desirably reinforced by an extra ply 20 of arm material and metallurgically hardened.

The shear blade 13 is provided with a coupling bracket part 17 which has upstanding arms 18 with facing knife edge portions 19 which embrace the notched margins of the driving arms 14 as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The knife edges 19 are spaced slightlymore narrowly than the width of arm' 12 from one notch to the other in the unstressed condition of the arm portions 14. Accordingly, the marginally notched arm portions 14 must be deformed toward each other and against their inherent spring resiliency to admit them to the space between knife edges 19. When so positioned the marginally notched arm portions 14 are biased under resilient pressure into bearing engagement with the knife edges 19 of arms 18.

Note from Figs. 6 and 7 that the knife edges 19 have inwardly offset corner portions 22 which overhang the seated position of the notched margins of the arm portions 14. The corners 22 form a restricted throat through which the arm portions 14 are passed in the course of engaging the coupling and resist withdrawal of the notched margins from the embrace of the knife edges 19.

The resilient pressure of the arm portions 14 against the knife edges tends to hold the coupling parts in frictional connection. The overhanging corners 22 of the knife edges resist displacement of the coupling parts in a direction perpendicular to the plane of blade 13. The notches 15 in the arm portions 14 resist separation of the parts in a transverse plane. The knife edges 19 and V-shaped notches 15 insure accurate location of the blade 13 with respect to the arm portions 14 and accurate registration of the blade 13 with the comb plate 38.

By forming the driving arm 12 in separate spaced arm portions 14, the coupling is free for limited yielding movement to accommodate for the aforesaid difference in motion of the shear blade and armature. As indicated in Fig. l the bifurcated arm 12 is desirably bowed at 21 to enhance the resiliency of the arm in a direction transverse to the reciprocation of the blade 13.

The clipper case is provided with a bed portion 23 on which upstanding paired guide lugs 24, 25 are desirably formed integrally. The respective pairs of lugs 24, 25 have socket recesses 26 therebetween into which a keeper plate 27 as shown in Fig. 3 may be disposed and held thereto by the screws 28. Detent slide plate 33 is retained therebeneath by the keeper plate 27 and is guided for sliding movement in the slideway 29 recessed into the bed 23. The bottom surface of slideway 29 is provided with a spring recess 31 into which the bias spring 32 for the locking slide 33 is received. The spring 32 bears on the forward wall 34 of the recess 31 and biases the locking slide 33 rearwardly toward engagement of its wedge shaped detent 35 with the corresponding wedge shape detent 36 of the locking plate 37 which is mounted on the undersurface of interchangeable comb plate 38. Slide 33 has a slot 30 into which a stop lug 39 on plate 27 extends to limit the extent to which the slide 33 may reciprocate.

Comb plate 38 is typical of one of several such comb plates, the respective comb plates differing in the number and thickness of their teeth 41. To achieve the desired degree of fineness or cut, the operator may substitute one comb plate for another simply by pressing inwardly on the exposed heel 42 of the detent slide 33 to compress spring 32 and release its detent wedge 35 from engagement with the detent wedge 36 of plate 37. The otherwise interengageable detent parts are thus separated to permit manipulation of the combplate with respect to the bed. When one comb plate 38 is removed the shear blade 13 remains with the clipper case in position for proper association with a substituted comb plate.

I claim:

1. In a hair clipper having an oscillatory armature and a driving arm connected thereto, a comb plate and a shear blade reciprocable thereon, said blade and driving arm having coupling parts, one of said parts having laterally spaced facing knife edges and the other part comprising paired driving arm portions embraced by said knife edges and having notched margins facing said knife edges and means biasing said arms into pressure engagement of its notched margins with said knife edges whereby the parts are in releasable frictional connection and are relatively yieldable to accommodate for relative movement of the parts in the course of conversion of the oscillatory motion of the armature to the reciprocatory motion of the blade, said knife edges having terminal portions inwardly ofiset toward each other and overhanging the marginally notched part to constitute a restricted throat through which the marginally notched part passes in the course of coupling and decoupling the parts.

2. In a hair clipper, the combination with a clipper case having a bed portion, of a removable comb plate and a shear blade mounted for reciprocation thereon, said bed portion and comb plate having portions releasable keying them together, a locking slide and means on said bed on which said slide is slidable in a rectilinear direction transverse to the direction in which the shear blade recipro cates, said comb plate having a locking plate, said looking slide and plate having interengageable detents aligned for coaction in the course of slide movement whereby to releasably fasten the comb plate to the bed.

3. The device of claim 2 in which said bed has a recess and a spring disposed in said recess and bearing on said locking slide whereby to bias said slide in the direction of engagement of said detents.

4. The device of claim 2 in which at least one of said detents is wedge shaped in cross section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,695,516 Van Osdel Dec. 18, 1928 1,861,043 Andis May 31, 1932 2,003,332 Andis June 4, 1935 2,347,089 Donaldson Apr. 18, 1944 2,537,088 Raspet Jan. 9, 1951 2,542,378 Van Armbruster et a1. Feb. 20, 1951 

